How we rank
Every list is put in order by a level: a score worked out from what each maker publishes and the research desk has checked on the maker’s own pages.
What the level is made of
- Facts with sources
- Each fact the research desk checked on the maker’s own pages, with the page it came from. A product with more documented facts earns more.
- Prices shown
- Plans with a published price earn the most; plans that exist but are quoted on request earn a little; no plans, nothing.
- A free way to start
- A real free plan earns more than a free trial.
- Works on the jobsite
- Apps for phones and tablets a crew can carry on site, and a web app that runs anywhere.
- Open source
- Code anyone can read and run.
- On several lists
- Software that does several jobs in a building business, so it belongs on more than one list here.
- Checked lately
- When the research desk last checked the maker’s pages: within four months earns the most.
- Research order
- The research desk’s own order for that list, from its reading of each product.
What is not in it
Opinions, reviews from elsewhere and how many people clicked. The level is worked out again every morning, so a maker who publishes a price, a free plan or a mobile app moves up the next day.
Bought places
Makers can buy some places on the site — a top spot on a list, a place beside a rival, a featured card. The advertising disclosure says what each one does.
Corrections
A maker can claim its page for free and send corrections from its desk; the research desk checks each one against the maker’s own pages.